Glaive
The Glaive is the second Polearm blade. It is one of only three of the Starting Weapons capable of a Progression, a superior combination with other blades of its own Design, Polearm; two other blades that can do this are Rapier and Glaive, with Scramasax also able, but since it is , unable to be combined until the late game. The rest only devolve higher-Tier weapons; Spear is capable of passing on its Class and Affinity bonuses to a Scorpion, but the result remains a Scorpion.Glaive is the ninth guaranteed blade available without random drops (after Scramasax and before Langdebeve). There is another guaranteed blade in the same battle; each is a 100% drop from one of two Lizardmen, but because the other drop, a Spear, is a duplicate of the fifth Starting Weapon, it is not counted as one. The Lizardmen only appear one time, in a locked-door battle in The Beast's Domain in the Catacombs. Entry into that room triggers many spawns in the Catacombs to either begin or end, and the fight ends with the Lizardman that drops the Spear also dropping the Lily Sigil to open the doors into the Sanctum It is unusual among the Starting Weapons in that it is a second-Tier blade, and unlike most of the Starting Weapons before it, that mostly devolves higher-Tier weapons, the Glaive is capable of superior combinations with other Polearms. With the next Tier Polearm, Scorpion, it will create a Corcesca. The previous-Tier Spear is capable of passing on its Class and Affinity bonuses to a Scorpion, but the result remains a Scorpion. With so few weapons to choose from at the start of the game, it is possible that this blade will acquire a great deal of Class bonuses, so it is worthwhile searching for a good combine target. The fifth Starting Weapon Spear is acquired in the The Hero's Winehall in the Wine Cellar. Glaive is one of three Edged Type Polearms, out of the twelve (seven Piercing, two Blunt). The Spear that drops in the same battle comes with a Spiculum Pole grip, same as the previous Spear, which is about as strong as any of the Starting Weapons' grips, and unlike most of them, even has room for a Gem. This grip, sub-optimal for the Spear, is an excellent Pole for the Edged-Type Glaive or Voulge or Bardysh. The Wooden Pole grip that comes with the Glaive is an inferior first Tier Pole and should be disposed of. A Piercing type grip for the Spear will probably only be found much later; Polearm grips are very strangely arrayed in loot, with few good Piercing types available early on, and yet the very best pole of all available in the early midgame, in a chest in Companions in Arms in the Limestone Quarry. Polearms are somewhat irregular in the increase in Strength from one Tier to another; the progression is only approximately 5.5 + (Tier level x 2.5). This difference is very low, but since there are 12 Tiers, the top tiers do quite good damage. Class, Affinity and Type are all divided by four hundred and then multiplied by total Strength to determine Damage. For example, Winged Pole has two Blunt, six Edged, and sixteen Piercing, for up to 4% times the value of Strength, compared with 3.75% for Minor Elemental gems such as Sylphid Topaz, and the same for Minor Nemesis gems such as Iocus. It is not possible to integrate the Starting Weapons into any combinations with Damascus until the New Game Plus, when the Godhands workshop is accessed. See also * Polearm * Polearm Combinations Category:Polearm Category:Long Weapons Category:Starting Weapons Category:Tier 2 Blade